


Underneath it All

by Pickwick12



Category: White Collar (TV 2009)
Genre: Bonding, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Found Family, Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:55:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29815641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pickwick12/pseuds/Pickwick12
Summary: A sequel to “What Really Matters,” Neal is once again at the Burkes’ house and lets himself ask El for help. As always, she tells it exactly like it is, and both she and Peter are surprised by Neal’s response.One-shot. Takes place early but not right at the beginning of Neal’s arrangement with Peter.
Relationships: Elizabeth Burke/Peter Burke
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	Underneath it All

“Neal, are you okay?” He’d done all the normal things—took Satch for a walk, had a glass of wine, helped Elizabeth pick out color schemes for two upcoming parties—but something was off. She’d wanted to ask him all evening, but she waited until Peter had gone into the bedroom to take a work call and left her alone with Neal in the living room.

As usual, they were sitting on the sofa. This time, Neal was right next to her since he’d been looking at her event mood board, with Satchmo, his living security blanket, on his other side, head pillowed on Neal’s knee. A totally docile domestic setup, except Neal seemed antsy, like he couldn’t quite settle into it.

“I’m fine,” Neal answered absently, like his thoughts were far away.

“Really?” Elizabeth asked. 

That was enough to snap him back to the present. “Not really.”

El nodded. “You want to talk about it?”

Neal looked at her for a while. “What do you think is wrong? You had me pegged last time.”

El took his right hand in both of hers. “I think you’re doing well, and that bothers you. You’re scared of getting too used to this life and liking it too much. You like working with Peter, but you don’t like feeling dependent on anybody, so if you start to feel too close, you do something on purpose to make him angry to create distance. Some part of you thinks if you keep it up, he’s going to give up and go away, but you won’t win this one. He’s the most stubborn man alive.”

El thought for a minute that Neal might withdraw. He quickly jerked his hand back and looked away, scratching Satch behind the ears and breathing heavily. But he stayed put, and Elizabeth just quietly waited it out, glad that Peter’s phone debriefing was taking a while.

“You know,” she added after a while, “when Peter was trying to catch you, I added something to your profile.”

Neal turned back in her direction, confused. “What?”

“Your psychological assessment claimed you hated authority because you couldn’t follow rules. That didn’t make any sense to me, because you had a history of following routines and rules when it got you something you wanted. So I told Peter what I thought.”

“I told him the problem was, you had to be independent and in control. Jobs, cons, romantic relationships—you were always in the driver’s seat. Your problem with authority wasn’t about rules; it was about trust. You didn’t want to depend on another person to lead and have them let you down.”

“Peter made a report on it, didn’t disclose his source. The FBI liked it so much they modified your file. It changed the way they looked for you, so if you have lingering resentment about being caught, at least a little of it should probably be directed at me.”

“What do you suggest I do about this, Mrs. Burke?” Some of Neal’s usual bravado was back, evident in his wry tone, which El actually found relieving.

“Honest advice?” she asked.

“Honest advice,” he nodded.

“Let go. Just a little bit. Let that rope of control go slack once in a while. See how Peter responds. See if he can handle it. Then re-evaluate, and don’t punish yourself by acting out just because you got a little close to somebody.”

Just then, Peter came out of the bedroom, and Elizabeth was glad for the rescue. She figured that was enough armchair psychoanalysis for one night, and, once again, she was afraid she might have pushed Neal too far.

She was wrong. When Neal finally got up to leave, she walked him to the door. Instead of the usual polite good night, he reached down and gave her a tight hug, which was a new tradition that would carry on.

—

“Neal’s weirdly amenable tonight,” Peter observed, bringing Satch in from his last nighttime walk. “Did you hypnotize him with your charms? He actually apologized for a white lie he told me yesterday.”

El smiled. “Even though he hides under the Caffrey mystique, he likes feeling understood. I was honest with him; that’s all.”

Peter shook his head, pulling his wife down into his lap. “Honesty gets you hugs. It gets me arguments and whatever the adult equivalent of pouting is.”

El leaned into her husband’s strong embrace. “That’s because you matter so much to him. I’m a side story, but you’re the main character. If I let him down, it’s one thing. If he’s wrong about you, that’s everything.”

“Heck, El, I like him. Underneath everything, he’s a good kid.”

“Me, too,” she answered, “but, Agent Burke, I like you even more.” That was the last talking anyone did for quite a while.


End file.
